Fastpitch Softball Terms: A Glossary for Parents

The pitcher

The circle: the ring around the pitcher’s plate, 8 feet in radius. It matters for pitching and for the look-back rule.
Pitcher’s plate (the rubber): where the pitcher starts each pitch, 35 to 43 feet from home plate depending on age.
Windmill: the full-circle arm motion almost every fastpitch pitcher uses.
Illegal pitch: a pitch that breaks the motion or foot rules. The batter gets a ball; whether runners move up depends on the league. See illegal pitches.
Leap / crow hop: a leap, with both feet off the ground during the delivery, is now legal in high school, USA Softball and Little League. A crow hop, landing and replanting the pivot foot to push off a second time, is still illegal.

Fastball: the basic straight pitch.
Change-up: a pitch that looks like a fastball but arrives much slower, to throw off the batter’s timing.
Drop ball: breaks downward as it reaches the plate.
Rise ball: spun so it seems to rise, or at least drops less than the batter expects.
Curveball, screwball: pitches that break sideways, away from or toward the batter.

Slapper: usually a left-handed hitter who starts moving toward first base as she swings, using her speed to beat out a ground ball.
Slap bunt / soft slap / hard slap: the slapper’s three main choices, from a bunt-like tap to a full hard swing on the run.
Short game: bunts and slaps together. Fastpitch uses it far more than baseball, because the bases are only 60 feet apart.
Pull hitter, opposite field: where a batter tends to hit it.

No leading off: a runner can’t leave the base until the pitcher releases the pitch.
Look-back rule: once the pitcher has the ball in the circle, a runner who’s off the base has to go straight to a base, right away. She may stop once, but then has to go back or go on right away. See the look-back rule.
Courtesy runner: a runner for the pitcher or catcher, so they can stay fresh or get their gear on. She doesn’t count as a substitution.

DP and FLEX: the DP (designated player) bats but doesn’t have to field; the FLEX fields but doesn’t bat, unless she takes over the DP’s spot in the order. That’s how a team can use ten players while batting nine. See DP/FLEX.
Re-entry: a starter can leave the game and come back in once, to her original spot in the batting order. See re-entry.
Extra player (EP), extra hitter (EH): an additional batter in the lineup, allowed in some leagues and age groups. Whether that player can also field, and whether it can be combined with the DP/FLEX, depends on the rulebook.

Run-ahead rule: the game ends early when a team is far enough ahead, such as 15 runs after 3 innings. See the run rule.
Time limit: many tournaments start no new inning after a set time, like 1 hour 30 minutes.
Dropped third strike: the catcher doesn’t catch strike three cleanly, and the batter may be able to run. See the dropped third strike.
Position numbers: the same as baseball: 1 pitcher, 2 catcher, 3 first base, 4 second, 5 third, 6 shortstop, 7 left field, 8 center, 9 right. A 6-3 is shortstop to first.

10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U: age groups, meaning “10 and under” and so on, by the age on a set date each year. Each league sets that date.
Rec ball: local league play, usually with teams formed for the season.
Travel ball: tryout teams that play tournaments, often far from home.
Bracket play: the tournament’s elimination rounds, after pool play sets the seeding.